Demonic Resurrection was formed in 2000 by a bunch of ambitious 17-year-olds, and is now the poster child of metal in India. Most of the credit for the success goes to the relentless efforts by its vocalist and guitarist Sahil Makhija to bring attention to metal. Their sound is aggressive and the performances, quite satisfying for every kind of metalhead. The band has four albums to its credit and it has played at Norwegian metal fest Inferno and German mosh fest Wacken Open Air in the past.

2. Scribe

You have to attend one of Scribe’s concerts to know just how mental fans are about the band. From crowd-surfing on inflatable rafts to the harsh vocals, the band’s ex-vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoothy (who is now substituted by the charming Siddharth Basrur) left no stone unturned to ensure the band’s bhakts go home a happy lot. The band, which is almost a decade old and has released three albums, has got a whole new cop look now.

3. Bhayanak Maut

This outrageously loud band is a metalhead’s dream-come-true. Blame it on the members’ on-stage (and off stage) look or just their brand of metal, BM has a big following that includes fanatic college boys and girls as well as feisty metal veterans. The 11-year-old band has dished out three albums till date.

4. Skyharbor

Skyhabor stands apart from its contemporaries in many ways. The lack of the usual yell-y vocals and the stress on more melodic lines in their compositions are just some of the reasons why. The band has been a festival favourite for a couple of years now, and has two albums to its name.

5. Undying Inc

From: Delhi
What they call themselves: A wrecking ball; makers of “music that will make you want to spit into the face of life, burn everything you hate and chokehold the world you live in!”

This four-member band has survived many odds (read line-up changes, long spells of gig-less days etc) to be where it is today – among the top metal acts in the country. Undying Inc’s sound is angry, explosive and in-your-face; let’s just say, it’s very metal. The decade-old band has represented India at international metal gatherings also.

6. Goddess Gagged

Goddess Gagged debuted on the scene in 2008 and has made quite a few waves since then. The five-piece band is fronted by singer-songwriter Siddharth Basrur, who is also the new vocalist of Scribe. The band isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill hostile metal act (thank God for Basrur’s voice) and has played major festivals around the country.